The stock market correction may continue today: the Nasdaq-100 may head to 1300, the DAX to 3450 in the coming days.
Published: Nov. 21 2003, 14:21 GMT
A Note to Readers
I'll be taking over the Equity Trading strategies section of the website from here on out, and Robert Balan will continue to dish up his superb analysis for the FX market and Fixed Income and other futures markets in the other sections of this website. My style will inevitably diverge somewhat from Mr. Balan's, as we all have our unique way of looking at the markets. Please let me know what you think - I welcome your feedback. I'll still be offering trading ideas on futures instruments for the major stock indices, as well as specific stock trading ideas in the near future. And now, without further ado...
Today's Stock Market View
Trader's Note: We're adding short positions to our trading strategies on all stock indices - current levels offer reasonable risk/reward.
Stock markets were on a roller coaster ride yesterday with the terrible news of the Istanbul bombings and then the bizarre incident involving a private plane swooping a bit too close to the White House. Take a look at a high resolution chart of bond futures and you can see how nervous the markets can get when events like these happen. At first, the market seemed remarkably resilient, with European stock markets quickly brushing off the impact of the news. Later in the day, both shortly before and after the American opening, we had a pair of positive American economic figures - a positive weekly unemployment report, and better than expected leading indicators number. The latter was especially positive considering the disappointing previous data point for this statistic. This initially seemed to give stocks reason to rally, but at midday - they turned tail and wiped out all their gains and more - a very bearish signal. Not even a better than expected Philadelphia Fed survey later in the day could stop the hemorrhaging.
That leaves us with today: mysteriously - the trading day in Europe has seen little reaction to the American selloff and we've drifted higher for the better part of the day. There are no further economic data points today, and none close enough in the future to position for at this time - so we're left purely with our background themes and the technical picture. Fundamentally, we've been bearish for some time (please see the Background Themes below) and technically, we feel that the recent highs and quick reversal were an important pivot point and that we will see a continuation to the downside starting sooner rather than later. Have a look at the trading strategies for the individual instruments.
If you don't like to sell stocks and are always a buyer, however, have a look at some of the beverage stocks like PEP and KO and pharmaceuticals like MRK, LLY, and PFE. These may outperform the averages handily in the coming weeks and even months as they represent a move to "safety".
Background Themes
Here's the backdrop - the overarching theme is a market consensus that we are emerging from a period of economic sluggishness and are primed for strong and sustained economic growth. This theme is already months old by now and is getting rather long in the tooth as witnessed by the recent strong selloff - and increased buying interest in value/safety stocks like beverages, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare.
Our view is that this entire theme has been a mirage to begin with - yes we are seeing an uptick in the economy, but we believe that this uptick is a dangerous liquidity induced bubble (liquidity from low interest rates and the eye-popping American refinancing phenomenon) that will fail within a quarter or two, rather than the healthy beginning of a new and sustainable cycle. A new counter-theme may be developing already: fear related to trade issues, the increasing rate of terrorist attacks, additional failures in Iraq, job growth, and the twin deficits. Also - simple contrarian indicators give us pause at current levels: these include massive insider selling and extreme bullish readings in sentiment surveys. The time is ripe for a healthy correction.
S&P 500 Stock Index, dec 2003
SPZ3 (1035.20 @ 13:56 GMT)
We're initiating short positions on all major indices as we bounce after the strong recent sell-off. The S&P future may bottom at around 960 in this cycle, though we'll set our sights on a more modest 995.
Sell at 1035.20. Initial stoploss: 1049.00. Trading objective: 995.00.
NASDAQ 100 Future, dec 2003
NDZ3 (1368.50 @ 14:00 GMT)
We're initiating short positions on all major indices as we bounce after the strong recent sell-off. The tech-heavy Nasdaq future may sell off the quickest as some value issues may remain popular in this downturn. We'll target 1305 to the downside.
Sell at 1368.50. Initial stoploss: 1401.00. Trading objective: 1305.00.
Dow Jones Industrial Future, dec 2003
DJZ3 (9629 @ 13:57 GMT)
We're initiating short positions on all major indices as we bounce after the strong recent sell-off. The Dow contains fewer egregiously overvalued stocks than many of the other indices, so it may move more gently to the downside. We'll target 9285.
Sell at 9629. Initial stoploss: 9785. Trading objective: 9285.
Saxo Bank A/S accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any information here in contained nor for any forecasts or recommendations. Saxo Bank A/S shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any recommendation, forecast or other information herein contained. The contents of this publication should not be construed as an express or implied promise, guarantee or implication by Saxo Bank that you will profit from the strategies herein or that your losses in connection therewith can or will be limited. Stops may not necessarily limit losses to intended levels. Please read the full disclaimer.
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